使用 Homebrew 安装 mdless

项目链接

• 主页

命令和别名

• mdless

项目历史

The GitHub repository was created in August 2015, and the README explains the original motivation: the author wanted a quick terminal way to view Markdown files without using `qlmanage -p` from an iTerm2 visor workflow.

The changelog shows a long-lived 1.x and 2.x project. Version 1.0.0 marked an early maturity point, version 2.0.0 switched to Redcarpet parsing and added the `~/.config/mdless/config.yml` file, and later 2.1.x releases added and refined TaskPaper, metadata, image, theme, table, Ruby compatibility, and terminal-copy behavior.

采用历史

mdless spread through RubyGems and Homebrew. The README documents both `gem install mdless` and `brew install mdless`, while RubyGems reported more than 360,000 downloads and Homebrew tracked stable version 2.1.68 in 2026.

Unlike some newer Rust terminal viewers, mdless is strongly tied to the Ruby CLI ecosystem and Brett Terpstra's macOS-terminal workflow, but it remains packaged as a standalone Homebrew formula.

使用方式

Typical use is `mdless [options] path` or piping Markdown into it with `cat path | mdless`. The pager is selected from `$PAGER`, `less`, `more`, `cat`, or `pager`.

The first run writes `~/.config/mdless/config.yml`, and customization uses `~/.config/mdless/mdless.theme` plus optional named theme files. The README documents persistent options for colors, links, images, syntax highlighting, TaskPaper behavior, width, wiki links, and related rendering choices.

为什么软件包爱好者会关心

mdless is significant as an early dedicated Markdown pager for terminal users, especially before richer Rust and Go terminal Markdown renderers became common. It made Markdown viewing feel like a natural extension of `less` instead of a browser or preview-app task.

For packagers, mdless is a classic Ruby CLI with optional external helpers: Pygments for code highlighting and imgcat or chafa for image rendering. That makes it simple to install but richer when companion tools are present.

时间线

• 2015: GitHub repository created and mdless introduced as a terminal Markdown viewer.
• 2015: README documents Homebrew availability and RubyGems installation.
• Version 2.0.0: Switched to Redcarpet parsing and introduced `~/.config/mdless/config.yml`.
• 2026: RubyGems and Homebrew tracked version 2.1.68.

Related projects

• mdless overlaps with mdcat and mdfried as a terminal Markdown viewer, but it comes from the Ruby/macOS command-line ecosystem.
• It integrates with common terminal helpers and tools including less, more, cat, Pygments, imgcat, chafa, Ranger preview scripts, and TaskPaper workflows.

来源

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdless
• https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless#readme
• https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
• https://rubygems.org/gems/mdless
• source_facts.package-manager